It’s never easy to find your company on the front page or leading the nightly news for all the wrong reasons. And it becomes an even greater problem if Congress takes notice and requests (or, worse, demands) your presence. But this is just where Toyota Motors president Akio Toyoda finds himself.

Toyoda, who has already apologized for how his company dealt with safety problems that led to a massive recall of its vehicles, offers a crash course in crisis PR. Managers everywhere will learn some lessons on how to handle tough questions. They'll also gain some wisdom on how to learn about, admit to, and announce bad news quickly and effectively—a skill that would have helped limit the scope of Toyota’s quality problem and soften its consequences.

Answering Questions

Every manager gets faced with challenging questions—from a boss who wonders about a project that has yet to meet goals; from staff members who heard rumors of a cut in benefits; and from customers concerned about product quality. These can be make-or-break questions that must be handled well.

It's important to understand that a tough question often has an emotional component. The question might be being asked out of great concern, possibly fear. Your answer must appeal to the heart as well as the head. It isn't true that "the facts speak for themselves." You must show you recognize the questioner's feelings and are concerned about them.

As you answer the question, match the conviction of your words with appropriate movement and vocal changes. To be believed, you have to show that you yourself believe.

Be careful not to resort to clichés and circumlocutions. And never count on the power of your position to provide a satisfactory answer. The person who asked the question might accept a perfunctory response—but will feel resentful.

As you lay out the facts, use supporting evidence that the other person accepts and, equally important, understands. It's all right if you set the groundwork before you address the question—but make it clear from the beginning that you'll give the answer.

Don't sabotage a good answer by adding an unsupportable statement like "Employees are our most valuable asset" because the followup question might be "Then why are you putting people out of work?"

Beware of hypothetical questions. They might be intended to make you to contradict something you said or did earlier.

Many questions are predictable during tough economic times like these. Prepare persuasive, concise, and supportable answers to these questions. Sound bites are memorable—but they can also appear glib.

Here are some special tips for answering questions during the Q&A part of a presentation: If the question was negative, rephrase it without changing its meaning, look at the questioner as you begin answering, but look elsewhere before you finish so you don't get a negative followup question. Frame your responses so they answer the question and tie back to one of the points you're making, but be sure you really answered the question before you tie back. Finally, when you rehearse the presentation, also rehearse the Q&A.

And here’s some advice on how to handle questions from the press about your layoffs or any other problem: Appoint someone who will be in charge of answering questions from the media. Check legal counsel about what can or can't be said. Call the reporter back right away or the story will be published without your rebuttal to the charges. Be certain about your facts because they’ll be scrutinized; making an error here can compound the problem. If your problem arises to a Toyota-like level, consider getting public relations crisis consulting.

Announcing Bad News

Let’s say you're announcing something your employees don't want to hear—a staff cutback, for example. It’s best to make the announcement quickly so you head off rumors that might grossly misrepresent the change. Never announce bad news by email, though. Do it personally.

Speak from the heart. You can't do that effectively if you read from a script. Rehearse your announcement so well that you won't need written comments. Tell the employees about how hard it was to make the decision without apologizing for it. But don’t talk at length about how bad you feel because you'll seem less concerned about those affected.

Assure the employees that the future is bright because management has a strategy for overcoming hard times, and ask for their support. Be optimistic—but don't infer that there won't be future layoffs.

If layoffs are part of a multipronged organizational improvement effort, describe it; otherwise employees will feel they're being blamed for the company's bad times and only they are being penalized. Apart from concerns about their job security, employees also will worry about taking on the responsibilities of those who were laid off.

Break the news early in the day. This gives the employees time to digest it and ask questions.

Anticipate the questions you're likely to be asked. Be ready to tell everyone what their role will be and assure them that they'll have a voice in future planning. As you answer questions, keep showing your humanity. Maybe the question is intended to rattle you; maintain your equanimity and handle it with respect because you may have misunderstood the employee's intention, especially when you expected to be confronted.

Tell the employees everything that can be told. If you don't yet know the full extent of the impending change, say so. Promise to keep everyone informed. If there’s no new news to announce, say so.

Begin the presentation by describing why change was needed—but do it quickly. Too much background up front can make you sound evasive or insecure about how to present the news. If you participated in decisions that led to the problem, admit it.

Answering tough questions and delivering bad news constitute two of the biggest challenges managers face. By handling these challenges well, you'll demonstrate to senior management how well you can lead in tough times.

---

Bill Rosenthal is chief executive of Communispond Inc., which has taught more than 600,000 managers how to communicate effectively. Rosenthal's website, www.communispond.com, offers free access to articles, audiocasts, videocasts and subscriptions to e-newsletters on communications and selling.